AF Bostäder buys “Blocket” – opening the way for student housing with a tunnel system and helipad
Following Region Skåne’s policy decision to move the University Hospital in Lund to Smörlyckan, AF Bostäder has acquired the main hospital building, Blocket (The Block), and is establishing Therapeftikos, providing 1 300 student housing units equipped with modern facilities. Students can look forward to an underground infrastructure and an air service.
“When we heard about Region Skåne’s decision to divest Blocket, we immediately saw an incredible opportunity,” says Henrik Krantz, CEO of AF Bostäder. “This is truly one of Lund’s high-profile buildings and the location, in the middle of the Knowledge Highway, is fantastic. As Blocket is fully furnished, it is essentially possible to move in straight away!”
The basic idea is to rent out the existing departments as corridor accommodation. Everything is already in place, from individual rooms with showers to communal areas such as day rooms, kitchens etc. Everything has a sustainable design with durable materials and surfaces, accessibility is 100% and the spacious elevators not only have room to take all household contents in one go, but also dinners hosted by Lunds Akademiska Hisssällskap (the Lund Academic Elevator Society).
“The rental contract includes ergonomic armchairs, practical side tables with breakfast trays, height-adjustable beds, wall-mounted TVs, excellent lighting and smart alarm buttons for those who need to get in touch with their caretaker quickly,” says Henrik Krantz. “At the start of the semester we can roll extra beds into the corridors to meet the high demand for places and reduce blood pressure.”
Under the entire hospital area is a five-kilometre-long culvert system that AF Bostäder plans to expand so that students can stay under cover while reaching all of the company’s housing areas.
“This will be a fantastic service for our customers who can now avoid the rain, wind and Lund’s icy pavements and cycle paths,” says Henrik Krantz. Once the system is expanded, it will virtually cover the whole of central Lund, from Kämnärsrätten in the north to Vegalyckan in the south and all points in between. Students will be able to move around securely, safely and easily, even taking into account the minimal risk of culvert losses after late night sessions at the student nations.
“As an extra bonus, Blocket’s helipad will be preserved for a pilot project that provides an air service to respond to emergency fault reports from our housing areas,” says Henrik Krantz. “This will be a real lift for both caretakers and customers.”
“We now hope that this will bring an intense debate to an end and that the whole of Lund will want to celebrate the Therapeftikos initiative with us. As a precaution, we will be hiding all surgical spirit for the inauguration and will also cut off the supply of laughing gas. After all, we don’t want anyone to end up in hospital,” says Henrik Krantz.